مَجۡنُوۡنٌ

37:37; 44:15; 68:52.

Important Words:

الذکر (this Exhortation) is derived from ذکر (dhakara). They say ذکرہ i.e. he remembered it; he preserved it in his memory; he talked of it. ذکر (dhikr) means, remembrance; the presence of a thing in the mind; memory; the mention or relating of a thing; the praise and glorification of God; praise or eulogy of another; dispraise or evil speech; a thing that is current upon the tongue; fame, renown or reputation, as they say له ذکر فی الناس i.e. he has fame among the people; eminence, nobility or honour; a book containing an exposition of religion and an institution of religious laws; any Book of a Prophet and especially the Quran, also the Torah; an exhortation, an admonition or a warning (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:41, 153, 201 & 6:69.

Commentary:

الذکر i.e. Exhortation or Eminence being one of the names of the Quran (21:51), the verse shows that this name was well-known to disbelievers. The calling of the Quran by the name الذکر also implied a prophecy that it was to prove a means of bringing special eminence to its followers. God says with reference to the Quran, فیه ذکرکم (wherein lies your own honour, 21:11). See Important Words. Disbelievers, however, used this word ironically, as the epithets العزیز (the mighty) and الکریم(the honourable) have been used ironically about them in 44:50.

The words, "madman," contain an allusion to v. 3 wherein it is said that disbelievers will often wish that they had been Muslims. When that verse was revealed, the condition of Muslims was so weak and that of their enemies so strong that, when the latter heard the claim made about them in the above verse, they simply laughed at it and declared that only a madman could make such foolish claims.

Disbelievers used the word الذکر (Exhortation or Eminence) for the Quran with a view to ridiculing the idea of its being a means of honour for Muslims. They knew that they had subjected Muslims to bitter persecution and in their arrogance thought that they would speedily crush them. So in the existing circumstances it was quite natural on their part to say that it was mere madness to say that the Quran would raise Muslims to such eminence that disbelievers themselves would begin to desire that they had been Muslims.

The word مجنون (a madman) has been erroneously rendered by some translators as "possessed by a devil or by a jinn" or simply "possessed." It does not mean that but "a mad or insane person" or "one whose intellectual faculties are impaired" (Lane & Aqrab).

44:15.

Commentary:

The verse may mean that seeing that Moses, without paying any attention to his interruption and warning, had continued his arguments, Pharaoh thought that he was not in full possession of his senses; or he thought that like a madman Moses would listen to nobody but would go on harping on his own theme; and he said this in so many words.

6:35; 22:43; 35:26; 40:6.

23:26.

Commentary:

As briefly stated in the Introduction, almost the entire Surah is devoted to a discussion of the dreadful fate which the Rejecters of former Divine Prophets had met and this fact has been adduced as an argument to prove the truth of the Holy Prophet’s claim. The cases of the People of Noah, of the tribes of ‘Ad and Thamud and that of the people of Lot have received a special and somewhat detailed mention because these peoples lived on the confines of the Hijaz and the Quraish were quite familiar with their histories and had commercial relations with them. The people to whom Noah preached his Message lived in Iraq which lies to the north-east of Arabia, and the tribe of ‘Ad lived in Yemen and Hadramaut which form the southern part of it while the tribe of Thamud throve and flourished in the north-west of Arabia which extends from the Hijaz to Palestine and the ill-fated people of Lot lived in Sodom and Gommorah in Palestine.

Important Words:

رکن (power) is derived from رکن (rakana or rakina). They say رکن الیه i.e. he inclined towards him or it; he trusted or relied upon him or it so as to be or become easy or quiet in mind; he was or became firm, still, grave, staid, sedate or calm. رکن(ruknun) means, side or outward part of a thing; a stay or support; power, might and resistance, a man’s kinsfolk or clan, his people or party; persons by whom he is aided and strengthened; a noble or high person. They say ھو رکن من ارکان قومه i.e. he is an important person among the great men of his people. The word also means, an affair of great importance; a formidable event; the essence of a thing whereby it subsists. ارکان الصلوة means, the fundamentals of Prayer without which it is incomplete (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat).

Commentary:

The verse appears to say to the Holy Prophet that disbelievers cast severe looks at him that might frighten a person of a lesser calibre into giving up his mission, but he has a Divine Message to deliver to the world and so he can hardly be intimidated into yielding to such pressure tactics. They call him a madman. But far from this, his teaching contains the quintessence of wisdom; through it not only his own people—the Arabs—would be lifted from the lowest depths of degradation to the highest summits of greatness and glory, but it would also cleanse other peoples, freeing them from moral blemishes and raising their spiritual stature (v. 52).